Monday, 3 December 2012

Books of 2012

I started trying to put together a list of my favourite poetry collections of this year, but it struck me that most of what I've read and enjoyed this year has been back-catalogue stuff (with a few notable exceptions, which I'll write about over the holiday period), or anthologies. There are also two or three new collections that I've bought but not yet read.

So, with a month left, I want some recommendations. In the unlikely event that I've got a few quid spare in the next four weeks, what do I need to read?

2 comments:

Hi Matt. Have you tried Richard Meier's Misadventure? In a way, his collection reminded me of your poetry. I read one (Blackberrying in a time of recession) in a bookshop over the summer and, thinking of my then unborn son at the same time, it made me recoil. It's not often that a poem's that memorable. I finally chased the collection down a couple of weeks ago and am still enjoying it.

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PUBLISHED JULY 3, 2013

ABOUT ME

I live near Leicester, England, and write (and read lots of) poetry. My new collection, The Elephant Tests, is out now from Nine Arches Press. My previous collection, hydrodaktulopsychicharmonica, was published by Nine Arches in 2010. My first collection, Troy Town, was published in March 2008 by Arrowhead Press, and my chapbook, Making The Most Of The Light, was published in 2005 by Happenstance Press.

hydrodaktulopsychicharmonica

PUBLISHED MARCH 1, 2008

ABOUT THAT TITLE

Poly-Olbion was a vast poem describing the topography, traditions and history of England and Wales, written by Michael Drayton, a friend of Shakespeare. It ran to 15,000 lines of iambic hexameter, and he intended to extend it to include Scotland, but never got that far. Drayton didn't quite pass into obscurity, but if he's remembered now, it's generally for his much-anthologised sonnet, the wonderful "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part". Anyway, I've always had a soft spot for Drayton, because he was born and raised about 15 miles from here in Polesworth (and because of that sonnet), and thought his now-ignored mega-poem might provide a good name for a blog that will range far and wide, wittering aimlessly and incessantly about whatever catches my eye. I promise not to write it in iambic hexameter, though.